Spain's Wagon Cookin with their new album - a double CD that shows the duo's different faces. On one hand a fusion of jazz, soul, latin, brazil, funk and house. And on the other hand some pushing club bangers, electronic disco dubs that will satisfy every state of the art DJ.
Wagon Cookin was born from the deep passion of two brothers for good music and delicious food. Besides their affections Javier and Luis Garayalde share also the experience of living together in a genuine railway wagon which once ran on the great Trans-Eurpope-Express at the beginning of the 20th century and now is situated near Madrid in the foothills of Sierra De Gredos. Thus originates the name Wagon Cookin!
Enjoying a musical education at the conservatory from childhood on, both are skilled musicians playing several instruments like piano, banjo, double bass, fagot, drums and percussion. Along with their father, the scholar and saxophone player Javier Garayalde, they have been part of various jazz bands before developing an interest in electronic music, acid jazz and house in the 1990s.
After attracting worldwide attention by releasing their first tracks on Chris Duckenfield's label Odori they formed their own imprint Appetizers in 2001. With another series of 12"s on their own label they gained more respect which led to collaborations with people like Rainer Trüby, Gilles Peterson and Masters At Work. In 2002 the two groove gourmets served their first longplaying dish also called Appetizers. With an album in the baggage they went on tour playing concerts in Cologne at Popkomm, in Cannes at Midem and even four consecutive nights at the mythical Blue Note in Tokyo, sharing the stage with legendary Eddie Palmieri, Azymuth, Marcos Valle and Chic Korea.
The admiration of latin music made them pack their pots and pans in 2003, leaving Madrid behind to travel across the Atlantic ocean and settle down in their new kitchen, located in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) to create the band project Everyday Life. While the main ingredients of their aural meals remained the same, their efforts to merge electronic dance music with classical bossa and latin jazz were now flavoured by a whole bunch of talented live musicians giving the Wagon Cookin sound an enchanting deep and warm feeling. The Everyday Life album came out in 2004.
Fans of disco and soul; forward march! This is your album. It doesn’t even come to a halt until house music. But then, what am I talking about? Well, just like anywhere else in this detailed world, borders dissappearing, and the conclusion’s become the mixture of things melted into each other. The double album of these two spanish guys – appereantly named to 2 Faces – is the typical instance of transforming feelings born under the influence of globalisation into musical forms. Listening to their album, have been recorded in Spain and Brasil, one can continously catch the traces of using big city’s slow-vivid and busy-empty harmonies. And this useage is pure quality.